


Seeing Red

by Encyclopediac



Category: Big Bad Beetleborgs (TV)
Genre: Gen, Monster of the Week, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-20
Updated: 2011-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-27 15:11:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/297190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Encyclopediac/pseuds/Encyclopediac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The red Power Ranger is always the leader.  Why should they be any different?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeing Red

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheSecondBatgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecondBatgirl/gifts).



Jo closed her copy of the latest issue of Beetleborgs with more force than should have been possible without ripping the pages and frowned around at the comic store. "The Blue Stinger Beetleborg isn't the leader. The red one is always the leader."

"Says who?" Drew looked down at his own open copy and the offending panel there. On the last page, in stark four colors, the blue hero was sprawled out, unconscious from some devious Magnavore plan under the dramatic heading 'Who Will Lead The Beetleborgs Now?' He looked from the page to his sister, who was getting more irate every moment. Jo's fingers clenched in the issue, rolling and unrolling it with vicious thoughtlessness, and Drew winced for the abused pages.

"Says everyone who knows anything! Haven't you seen those news reports on the Power Rangers?" she said.

"Well yeah, but those are the Power Rangers. We're talking about the Beetleborgs. It's totally different," he said. Drew leaned back against the counter and smiled half-heartedly at Heather, who had looked up from her issue of Princeless to listen to the argument.

She looked over at him and then down, only half-hiding the smile on her face. "I'm going to have to agree with Jo," she said, shrugging up an apologetic shoulder. "I don't think this week's issue is particularly in character. The Blue Beetleborg gets pushed around sometimes by the others. I don't think they'll have a problem while he's unconscious." She held out her hand, beckoning and Jo slapped the rolled up issue into her palm. "I'll ring this up for you."

"But don't you think the Blue Stinger is the smartest?" Drew asked, stung. "I mean, he's obviously older, so he's got to know way more stuff than Red Striker."

"Only if you admit that the Red Striker is the strongest and hardest to beat. And besides, she's plenty smart, and brave too. And he's not _that_ much older," Jo said. Her chin was jutting out in that way she got sometimes when nothing Drew could say would change her mind.

It reminded him of the time (the only time) he'd told her girls had to play with dolls. She'd been three. He'd had bruises on his legs for a week. He sighed and shrugged. "Fine, but if Red Striker can't get along without Blue-- in the next issue, I mean-- then you'll see I'm right and he's the leader."

* * *

The Magnavores lost no time in calling up the new monsters out of the latest issue. This one, some sort of weird hypnotic toad creature was trying to put them to sleep by playing a flute, like some sort of demented pied piper. It was huge, and every time they tried to move around to avoid the blasts of music and foul air it produced, it just jumped over and used it's bulk to knock them back in range. Roland had already had a close call, nearly snoozing on his feet.

"Roland, wake up, come on man, we need you!" Drew slammed his shoulder into their half-awake friend. Roland jolted, and brought his claw up to bear, shooting off a mis-aimed jolt of electricity at the monster. "We can't just fire at him aimlessly, we need a plan. Jo, you should circle around back and kick him all the way back to the comic," Drew said.

Jo's shoulder's tensed, and she nodded. "Right." She jumped towards the monster with sudden force, dropping, and trying to roll under the monster's guard. She can up shooting, and her shot went wild too, nearly clipping Roland, who was trying a flanking maneuver on the other side.

"Ow, hey! Jo, watch the blaster fire! You're supposed to be shooting the monster, not us," Drew yelled.

"I know what I'm doing," she retorted, regaining her feet and ducking another shot of sleep-music. "I can fight, you know."

"Uh, guys," said Roland.

Drew waved his stinger in Jo's direction. "Just because your strong doesn't you can fight. If you get distracted, we'll never beat the Magnavores."

"Uhm, guys?" said Roland.

"It's not like I'm letting the monster knock me out. I just missed a shot is all. Who made you the boss?" Jo twisted to give him a glare that he couldn't see through her helmet. It made her feel a little better to do it, though. She'd been doing this exactly as long as he had, and knew what she was doing too. She rolled her shoulders, feeding her aggravation into the outlet she had for it by leaping straight up to strafe the monster from the sky-- that should knock it down to size!-- and let loose with her Striker Blaster. She'd show him who couldn't aim. She lined up her shot, but as she pulled the trigger, the monster turned its flute on her sending her flying back, and her blaster fire raining down on her brother. "Drew!"

The explosions from the blaster bolt impacts sent Drew flying back. Jo's mind went blank with panic as he hit the ground, limp and unmoving. The monster turned to him, raising its flute. And the next thing Jo knew, she was between her brother and the giant toad, her blaster aimed at its forehead. "I don't think so, tadpole. I won't let you touch him." She shot at it, but it dodged and hit back with a blast of music that sounded almost as bad as the wind blasts had smelled. It made her ears ring, and she wobbled. The ground suddenly looked comfortable and inviting. Maybe she could get a quick nap before she finished the fight. There was another blast of awful music. It felt like her head was filled with cotton. Her blaster arm was heavy. Jo thought she might have shot off another volley of bolts at the Magnavore creature, but but her eyes were gritty with sleep and her hearing was fading in and out with her focus.

The last thing she realized before she passed out was that Drew was back on his feet, and he'd caught her before she fell.

 

* * *

When she finally opened her eyes again, Drew's face was so close they were nearly bumping noses. He was speaking, but not to her: "--you sure she'll wake up, Flabber? It's been hours!"

"M'awake, m'awake," she said. He stood back abruptly, mouth gaping open. Jo took a moment to look around-- sometime while she'd been asleep, they'd relocated to Hillhurst and she was sprawled out on one of the uncomfortable antique couches. "What happened?" She remembered with sudden shudder Drew getting knocked around by her laser blasts. "Drew, are you okay?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, I just got knocked down for a bit. But I think you saved me by standing between me and that monster. That really was brave of you." Jo felt like shrinking into herself. She'd saved him after she put him in danger!

"Now, kids. I think you'll both feel better if you apologize to each other," Flabber said with a grand gesture that dimmed the lights to what he must have considered proper mood lighting.

He was watching them so carefully that for a long time neither of them could come up with something to say. "I'm sorry, Drew. I rushed into the fight without thinking about what I was doing and I nearly got you hurt," Jo said. She stared down at her hands. She couldn't believe she'd let her stupid jealousy over a dumb title get in the way of fighting as a team with her brother and best friend. "It was dumb."

Drew shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I didn't mean to be bossy. Not everything that the comic says is true. We're all Beetleborgs together, right? Who cares who's the leader, as long as we keep fighting the Magnavore's evil. You saved me, and that's all that matters in the end." He smiled at Jo, and her grin lit up the room.

Roland nodded along. After a minute he smiled blandly at the siblings and said, "I've got an idea. I can be the leader. That way you two don't have to fight about it ever again."

Jo and Drew shared a look, turned towards Roland in unison and jumped on him, rolling and tickling and play-fighting until the Monsters poked their heads in to see what the commotion was.

After that, the commotion mostly had a lot to do with all three of the kids running from hungry monsters. And that was the way it should be.


End file.
